Blogging for ice cream

A group of us gathered together for my send-off from Yeosu-si. We ate delicious Vietnamese for dinner and after wards, the brave few set out to conquer a challenge I proposed.

The Challenge: To try all 31 flavors of Baskin Robbins ice cream.

The Troops: 5 of us ate our way through 20 scoops of ice cream and decided to stop since we contracted adult on-set contact diabetes.

Round 1: 6 scoops, first bites

Round 2: 6 scoops


Round 3: 8 scoops


The End Results: It was a challenge to eat 20 scoops of ice cream, split between 5 adults. Perhaps it would have been better to go in on an empty stomach, as opposed to eating a full meal just 30 minutes prior.

Well done, Team BR and even though we didn’t plow through all 31 flavors we did our best, and that’s what matters!

Chuseok National Holiday

Chuseok (September 21 – 23, 2010)
During the official holidays, offices and banks are closed but palaces, museums, most restaurants and department stores remain open. Chuseok is one of the most important traditional holidays for Koreans, along with Seollal (a formal bow of respect to their elders as a New Year’s greeting).
Chuseok is celebrated on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month. Chuseok is often referred to as Korean Thanksgiving Day. It is a celebration of the harvest and giving thanks for the bounty of the earth. Family members travel to visit their hometowns and their ancestral homes. Returning to school after the holiday, I asked my students about their weekend plans, and about half of the students families participated in this traditional giving of thanks. The other half celebrated with their families in a more modern way. Most of the children said they had dinner with their grandparents, or a small family gathering. During the day a few went to the movies or hiking with their friends and family. 2010 seemed to bring about some changes to traditional South Korea lifestyle. I live in Yeosu-si, which is a very small country town, down in the southern province of the country, so I can imagine the families living in larger cities foregoing the traditional celebratory styles and adopting a more contemporary approach for their much needed break from work and school.

The children are wearing the traditional dress for Chuseok and doing so beautifully.

Dong-A Ilbo 2010 Gyeongju International Marathon
(Sunday, October 17, 2010) The Marathon was held at Hwangsung Park, Gyeongju-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do, Korea
Marathon(42.195km), Half Marathon(21.0975km), 10km, 5km
I recently ran the 5km, while Becky and Chad trained and ran the Half Marathon. We traveled to Gyeongju for the run and had a great weekend; we visited temples and ate delicious traditional Korean food! It was a beautiful weekend!

Here we are after the run, drinking Makgeolli (pronounced, Mock-o-lee and referred to in English as “Korean rice wine.” It is an alcoholic beverage native to Korea. It is made from a mixture of wheat and rice which gives it a milky, off-white color, and sweetness. It is made by fermenting a mixture of boiled rice, wheat and water, and is about 6.5–7% alcohol by volume) and eating kimchi! GO KOREA, serving up some traditional Korean drink a quarter after 12:00 Hey, “It’s 5:00 somewhere!”

Becky and Chad after accomplishing the Half Marathon!!!